This invention relates to combustors for gas turbine engines and in particular to an improved bulkhead panel for use in the combustors.
Gas turbine engines, such as those used to power modern commercial aircraft, include a compressor for pressurizing a supply of air, a combustor for burning a hydrocarbon fuel in the presence of the pressurized air, and a turbine for extracting energy from the resultant combustion gases. The combustor typically comprises radially spaced apart inner and outer liners or support shells. The liners or support shells define an annular combustion chamber that resides axially between the compressor and the turbine. Arrays of circumferentially distributed combustion air holes penetrate each liner or support shell at multiple axial locations to admit combustion air into the combustion chamber. A plurality of circumferentially distributed fuel injectors project into the forward end of the combustion chamber to supply the fuel.
At one end of the combustor is a bulkhead panel which is subjected to relatively high temperatures. As a result, it is necessary to provide the bulkhead panel with effective cooling.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved bulkhead panel for use in a gas turbine engine combustor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bulkhead panel which has an effective cooling scheme associated therewith.
The foregoing objects are attained by the bulkhead panel of the present invention.
In accordance with the present invention, a bulkhead panel for use in a gas turbine engine combustor broadly comprises a first side and a second side, a plurality of panel holes extending from the first side to the second side through which cooling air flows, and a circumferential inner rail on the first side for dividing the first side into a first cavity region having a plurality of the panel holes and a second cavity region having a plurality of the panel holes. In a preferred embodiment, each of the panel holes has an exit nozzle on the second side, which exit nozzle is angled so as to create a swirling flow of cooling air over the second side of the panel.
Other details of the bulkhead panel for use in a gas turbine engine combustor of the present invention, as well as other objects and advantages attendant thereto, are set forth in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals depict like elements.